Month: March 2011

A decent article, and I like Bob Pickard’s quotes. I wonder, however, if the problem with social media shouldn’t have been extended to a larger problem with communicating generally. The social media issue is a symptom, not the problem.

A fascinating read. What I am trying to decipher is whether this is a brilliantly-staged character assassination on the part of a gigantic corporation and its expensive hired guns, or whether in fact this fellow Donziger is, in fact, a caricature of an ambulance-chaser. Almost as good as a Grisham novel

There are good articles about the internet in China, and there are great articles about the internet in China. This, sadly, is neither. Rather than provide a nuanced view of why local internet companies do well in China and why the foreigners fail, the authors go instead for the Single-Factor Soft Kill: those darn protectionist Chinese.

George Monbiot’s writing this in a Guardian blog is a guaranteed flame-magnet, but it is important that the debate around nclear power does not devolve into an environmentalist rout. Hard, hard questions have to be fully answered about HOW we move forward before we start pulling the plug on every single nuclear plant out there.

I have yet to see someone prove, using figures in BTUs, that renewables are the answer to the problem given current and projected generation capabilities. What this crisis should, and I think will do, is push funding of alternative energy research to the top of the priority list.

Of all of the conservative pundits of the Neocon generation, George Will remains my sole favorite because he is the most intelligent of the group. This editorial, while interesting in its perspective from the Naval War College, does little to actually address Chinese intentions. It merely points to the importance of China’s focus on developing a blue water navy.

Which, frankly, is good, because we really need to go no further at this point. To bang the gong and rend our clothing over China’s construction of a small aircraft carrier would be foolish. But to take note that China, traditionally a land power, has finally acknowledged that its rise demands a maritime dimension, is necessary and appropriate.

Now if only the U.S. Navy could figure out how to buy ships and planes without bankrupting the nation, we’d be in great shape.

The Guarddog offers a remarkably even-handed discussion of the events and makes some salient points, primarily that TEPCO’s biggest error was not screaming for help much sooner. Never, never, let the guys appointed to run the business day-to-day handle a crisis of any magnitude. Get experts immediately.

In what I think is one of the best pieces he has ever written for the Wall Stret Journal, Boalt Law professor Stanley Lubman obliquely raises a compelling specter: if the Party and the government do not compel local governments to start protecting consumer interests as a first priority, they are allowing a vacuum into which non-governmental forces could step.

This prospect scares the daylights out of the Party, because they believe that the emergence of popular non-governmental associations could form the nexus of a viable political opposition. One need look no further than Poland’s Solidarity movement to understand their fear.

Peter Wynn Kirby offers a profound and thoughtful reflection on Japan’s troubled relationship with the atom. Despite the whimsical title, the essay provides a moving peek into a little-understood (by Gaijin) part of Japan’s national psyche.

Back in the bad old days of the Cold War, a major concern was operating in and around a battlefield that had been contaminated with nuclear detonations. As a result, the U.S. military has built a considerable expertise on dealing with widespread contamination that it is now beginning to apply to civilian assistance programs.

These three manuals lay out the tactics, techniques, and procedures for the avoidance of, protection from, and decontamination from nuclear and radiological (as well as chemical and biological) contamination. Three worthy reads and references as the story in Japan grows.

Continuing our Atomic Cafe theme in deference to events in Japan, the U.S. Army has published the operational procedures that it follows when providing assistance after a nuclear accident or incident. My bet would be that the Japanese Self Defense Forces are working from a playbook not too dissimilar from this one.

Related Articles

In 2007 Council on Foreign Relations fellow Charles Ferguson published this erudite and compact report on the global expansion of nuclear energy. As with the Carnegie report, Ferguson looks closely at the proliferation question, but also delves into some of the wider issues that would accompany a sudden spurt in global reactor construction. Given some of the operational challenges faced by the Japanese power companies that are coming to new light in the wake of the Fukushima crisis, Ferguson looks like he was right on.

To get a free copy of a report for which the CFR otherwise would charge you $10, simply click on the “DOWNLOAD THE FULL TEXT OF THE REPORT” link below the purchase button. The download is free.

Sharon Squassoni of The Carnegie Endowment examines the limitations of nuclear energy in the face of growing support for a new reactor construction in the U.S. Originally written as a policy brief for candidates in the 2008 U.S. presidential election, the work takes on a new relevance given the debate sparked by the Fukushima crisis.

The older I get, the less I see Les Brown as a monomaniacal lefty and the more I see him as the personification of passionate wisdom. This superb op/ed is an excellent example, which underscores that China will become dependent on America for our produce.

A 5.8 earthquake knocks down 3,600 houses and damages another 11,300, kills 25, and injures 250. At some point, the government is going to face up to the problem of “tofu construction” in China. This would be a superb place to start.

Caixin complains that letting NSN buy Motorola’s wireless networks business could deal a damaging blow to overseas expansion by Chinese telecom companies. Horsefeathers. It would level the playing field.

“Modern life requires learning from disasters, not fleeing all risk.” Yes, without question, this is nuclear industry PR at its best. But in the coming months it is incumbent on everyone to approach nuclear power with a realistic view to what other options are available. That demands balancing the “shut them all now” alarmism with a realistic appraisal the challenges we face in replacing fossil fuels.

The article is worthwhile, even though it comes off a bit like Wimmer doing the soft sell. The truth is a ton of corporate espionage takes place in China, and that there are a range of issues – legal, cultural, commercial, and historic – that contribute to the problem. Wimmer and his firm are outstanding in attacking the symptoms. We need to have an open conversation about the causes.

“Now Friends With Charlie Sheen, Twitter Tells Its Nerdy Old Pals to Drop Dead” Poorly communicated and delivered in a high-handed manner sure to alienate many of its erstwhile defenders, Twitter’s decision clearly comes as the result of the threat Twitter clients pose to the firm’s monetization strategy. Little things like this push me closer to Sina Weibo, self-censorship issues and all.

Beijing’s Belgrade SyndromeChina Matters: How It All Began: The Belgrade Embassy Bombing. This is a superb post, and well worth the read. I do agree that we in the United States – including most of our leaders in Washington – underestimate the psychological impact that the bombing of China’s embassy in Belgrade had in certain quarters in Beijing. Nor do we r […]

China and Green FinanceGreening China’s Financial System: Synthesis ReportZhang Chenghui, Simon Zadek, Chen Ning, Mark HalleInternational Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD)March 16, 2005 Making China more environmentally friendly is more than simply a matter of installing scrubbers on factories and catalytic converters on cars. There are systemic i […]

Ling Wancheng rumored to have fled to US with secrets of China's leaders｜Politics｜News｜WantChinaTimes.com: Quote: “RFI said that as Ling Jihua’s political career spanned the Jiang Zemin, Hu Jintao and Xi Jinping presidencies, Ling Wancheng may be privy to information on the three leaders and he may make this information public while in the US, with Xi a […]

““It’s as if we’re shutting down half our brains,” said Chin-Chin Wu, an artist who spent almost a decade in Paris and who promotes her work online. “I think that the day that information from the outside world becomes completely inaccessible in China, a lot of people will choose to leave.”” - China Further Tightens Grip on the Internet - NYTimes.com […]

China to Write $10B Check for Chips | EE Times: China can spend $10 billion, even $20 billion on factories to crank out acres of silicon a day. That investment won’t make China a single iota more innovative. It will just dump a whole bunch of capacity and inventory onto the market to the detriment of the nation’s water supply.

Feds deport Chinese man convicted in fatal Des Moines crash | Local News | The Seattle Times: pacbullmoose: One can only wonder whether this brat would still be rotting in a US jail if his parents in China weren’t quite clearly wealthy, and possibly powerful. The full story of this case has yet to be told. Totally agree.

““I’ve also bought copies of this book for my colleagues,” Mr Zuckerberg told his visitor of the president’s book, according to The Paper, a government-run news website. “I want them to understand socialism with Chinese characteristics”.” - Mark Zuckerberg accused of ‘kowtowing’ to China for handing out copies of Xi Jinping’s speeches - Telegraph P.T. Barnum […]

Cato Institute on the SH-HK Stock ConnectHong Kong, as the freest economy in the world, is an ideal place for global capital to enter the mainland. With the further opening of China’s capital account, Shanghai could one day outshine Hong Kong, but only if property rights are protected under the rule of law understood as a meta-legal principle whereby all ind […]

Kid, you'll flatten mountains: Yan'an leveling 33 hills to make way for urban expansion: Shanghaiist: If you want to choose the first major country to be entirely covered in concrete and asphalt, I have a nominee for you.

Indonesia is Worried about ISIS“ISIL, a Growing Threat in Indonesia?”Gwenael Njoto-FeillardEast-West CenterSeptember 23, 2014 Lest we develop the impression that concern about ISIL/ISIS is restricted to the Middle East and select western capitals, this paper by Njoto-Feillard, a visiting scholar at the Institute of South-East Asian Studies in Singapore, make […]